Talk:Parthians
The one reason why I am wary about the architectural styles used by the Persian faction of 0AD is because I feel it resembles Babylonian/Old Persian architecture too much. Moreover, the mention of Parthian buildings "not being whitewashed" doesn't seem to to fit in with the Early Parthian period which would be covered by K&C. Generally, you need to remember some things: *Parthia was a satrapy of the Seleucids. It is logical to believe that some Hellenic influence was received. *Graeco-Iranian art was the norm. Evidence from Hatra and Palmyra suggests that Parthian architecture had more in common with Roman architecture than with Neo-Babylonian (which seems to be what 0AD has) *It is possible that CA and WildFire have avoided this fact, because people would complain that their buildings would not look foreign and distinctive enough. Try doing something like I did for Rise of Kings. Try mingling Carthaginian and Persian styles, see what you can get, and don't use 0AD because I feel that we don't need to create a "Parthian" style. Yes, some of our Iranian fans may grumble but that's their jingoism talking, not history. Moreover, 0AD has left out something that we often associate more with the Romans than with the Persians - arches and arcades! I do not mind trying my hand at a few Parthian buildings. Just tell me what you want and I will think about it, but most likely I will use my Rise of the Ancients drawings and then slowly work my way from there, adding and removing as needed. On the other hand, you can work on the Carthaginians first. See what buildings you can create. Then use the tileset on Parthia. If it works, then perfect. If not, then we can decide if it needs a followup. But ultimately I would like it if the tech trees for Parthia, Sabaea and Carthage were first finalised. Nabataea can be left alone, because we can recycle the Carthaginian tileset for them. I was looking up on African architecture and I read that Egyptian architecture was quite big throughout the Middle East and Africa, with the most notable faction having Egyptian-style architecture being Nubia and Meroe. Given their access to the Red Sea, one wonders if Egyptian architecture passed into Yemen too although modern examples suggest this isn't the case. Yemen is a big problem because nobody has bothered to excavate the sites therein properly. The BHG mudhut ensemble fits Sabaea best, but I'm interested to see what you have in mind first. We cannot use the Iberian tileset because Sabaean architecture was very distinct. :::: I don't know if Hatran and Palmyran architecture would be a particularly good indicator of Parthian architecture in our mod's timeline, as they seem to come from the end or after the mod's timeframe. While Greco-Iranian architecture makes sense in the west where the Seleucids were based, I can't imagine it being the norm in the east where Persian culture would have remained strong and Seleucid influence was rather weak (remember that Parthia and other satrapies were able to rebel quite easily). I don't think the heavy Greek influence would have come until later on when Parthia had conquered much of the Seleucid empire. :::: Also, what do the tech trees have to do with the tilesets? :::: -- Super7700 (talk) 08:23, February 11, 2014 (UTC) :::: Reforms = Ages, you can set tilesets to evolve with reform research, graphics development willing. Unfortunately for us there is very little of Parthian architecture around - what little there exists in Iran is slowly being destroyed by neglect. But if wikipedia is correct Graeco-Persian architecture was big, especially in the first Parthian capital of Nisa. There was a neo-Achaemenid revival in the 2nd half of the Parthian empire, but given that you want to end K&C around the battle of Actium this is not possible. :::: It is possible to have the Sabaeans have the Parthian style, but we do not know how this could be done. You need to avoid using Achaemenid art like that used in 0AD and maybe concentrate on something resembling early Arabic art if possible - the Doura murals may provide some clues. :::: Beelim (talk) 12:33, February 11, 2014 (UTC) :::: It would be too much work making building graphics change with reform research, and also they don't equate with ages, they are just techs at the Meeting House. If Greco-Persian architecture was a big thing for the Parthians then I suppose they could use the Eastern Hellenistic building style along with the Bactrians, Pontics, and possibly the Seleucids (it seems Seleucid architecture in the west was very Greek so the completely Greek style may be more accurate). Would it also make sense for the Armenians to have Greco-Persian structures? :::: -- Super7700 (talk) 05:30, February 12, 2014 (UTC) :::: That is something I am trying to figure out, because what few samples of Armenian architecture we have tend to be Mediaeval or Early Modern. Armenian architecture was said to have favoured big, heavy walls to compensate for the intense seismic activity which took place under the mountains of Armenia. The only building intact from the Classical Era is a temple at Garni, but this was built in a Roman style. Still, given that the Seleucids were large in most of Armenia it is plausible that the Eastern Hellenistic style also applied to them. But I would like to see what kind of unique buildings you will be giving them. :::: Seeing that we have the "Cultural Centre" and a special "Civic" centre, I would be interested in knowing what these ought to be. Consider this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zurkhaneh :::: Have you looked at the pictures of traditional Yemeni architecture yet? Beelim (talk) 01:32, February 13, 2014 (UTC)